Dinesh alluding to CFA, reminds Ranil of how he behaved when he was in power

By Saman Indrajith

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe called on the Speaker yesterday to issue an order to the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance that he should submit a copy to Parliament of the agreement signed with the New Fortress Energy Company of the US.

The UNP leader said that he had already raised a privilege issue on the matter and the government should submit a copy of the agreement to the House. Without a copy of the agreement, how could one expect the MPs to participate in a debate over the issue, the UNP leader queried.

“This agreement has been signed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance therefore he is bound by the responsibility to submit a copy of the agreement to Parliament,” he said.

Leader of the House Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the relevant Minister had agreed that he would submit a copy of the agreement to Parliament.

The Leader of the House said that it had not been possible for the Opposition to get copies of the agreements signed by the government during the times when Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister. “You did not heed such requests when you were in power. We are happy that you have mended ways after losing power.”

UNP leader Wickremesinghe said that copies of all agreements the government had signed had been given to the sectoral oversight committees while he was the Prime Minister. “If the government disagrees, I am ready for a debate on the matter.”

Chief Opposition Whip Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella said any document asked for by the Opposition was submitted to Parliament while he was the Leader of the House of the previous Parliament and challenged the incumbent Leader of the House to prove him wrong.